Kim Jong-un was reportedly “desperate to get rid of his nuclear weapons and did not want his daughter’s generation to live with the burden” of nuclear weapons, the former South Korean leader said.
Moon Jae-in, who facilitated historic summits between Kim and former US President Donald Trump, revealed in a new memoir that the North Korean leader “repeatedly” and “desperately” made clear that Pyongyang did not plan to use its weapons and expressed frustration. about global distrust.
Moon also added that, surprisingly, the tyrant dictator “mentioned that he has a daughter and does not want his generation to live with the burden of nuclear weapons.”
“He sincerely explained his commitment to denuclearization,” he added.
Moon’s memoirs, titled “From the Border to the Center,” included the passage – which has now sparked backlash – claiming that Kim Jong-un “repeatedly said he had no intention of using nuclear capabilities.”
Former South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s recently published memoir, titled “From the Periphery to the Center,” claims that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was “desperate to get rid of his nuclear weapons.” Pictured: The memoir is displayed at a bookstore in Seoul on May 21, 2024.
Kim reportedly said he did not want his daughter’s generation to “live with the burden” of nuclear weapons. Pictured: Kim, her 10-year-old daughter, Kim Ju Ae, and an officer watch what she says is an intercontinental ballistic missile launched from an undisclosed location in North Korea last December.
A photograph released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows missiles launched during a nuclear counterattack drill last month.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae, visits a military vehicle production plant on January 5, 2024.
The memoirs sparked outrage and sharp criticism from South Korea’s Unification Minister and top North Korea official, Kim Yung-ho, who said Monday that he “completely trusts” the country’s intention to denuclearize rather than develop its nuclear capabilities could result in a “miscalculation” that could have a “seriously negative security outcome” for South Korea.
If South Korea relies only on North Korea’s “good faith,” its people and national security could be at risk, Kin warned.
“Instead of denouncing the previous administration, he should behave more like a Unification Minister and focus his energies on restoring inter-Korean relations,” he said at a news conference.
But Moon’s comments come just a month after Kim oversaw North Korea’s first “nuclear firing” exercises, which involved simulating a nuclear counterattack as a warning to enemies.
The exercise took place on April 22 and Seoul’s military had previously announced that North Korea had fired several short-range ballistic missiles that day, with Tokyo also confirming the launch.
Kim “led a combined tactical exercise simulating a nuclear counterattack involving large multiple rocket gunners,” the official Korean Central News Agency reported at the time.
This photo taken on March 15, 2024 and published by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 16 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (center right) and his daughter Ju Ae (center left) attending the completion and commissioning ceremony. for the Gangdong comprehensive greenhouse in Pyongyang
Kim Jong Un and his daughter inspected a missile that North Korea said could hit the mainland United States, Seoul and Tokyo last December.
Kim Ju Ae has been photographed alongside her father and North Korea’s weapons arsenal on several occasions since she first appeared in November 2022.
Kim Jong Un (front, second from right) and his daughter Ju Ae (right) inspecting a Korean People’s Army training at an undisclosed location in North Korea on March 15, 2024.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae, visits a military vehicle production plant on January 5, 2024.
The rockets “hit their island target” about 219 miles away, he continued, saying Kim had expressed “great satisfaction” at the result, which prompted “the Korean-style tactical nuclear strike,” belying his apparent “despair” over ” get rid of them.” of their nuclear weapons.
KCNA said the exercises were in response to a joint air exercise between the United States and South Korea, which will be held from April 12 to 26.
The US and South Korean air forces said the annual exercises would serve to “demonstrate lethality in the air domain and enhance their ability to deter, defend and defeat any adversary.”
Pyongyang stated that it is “seriously threatened by incessant military provocations by hostile forces,” KCNA said on April 23.
As a result, the North needs to “more overwhelmingly and more rapidly build up its strongest military force,” he added.
Kim’s daughter, Ju Ae, has been photographed alongside her father at several key public events that sparked speculation that she may have been chosen as the nuclear-armed North’s next leader, for a third hereditary succession.
In an image released by Pyongyang in March, Ju Ae is seen using binoculars to observe recent paratrooper exercises, standing alongside her father and senior military officers.
And in December last year, Kim took his young daughter to witness the third test of his country’s most advanced missile system, which could reach the United States, Seoul and Tokyo.
But little was known about Ju Ae, believed to be the middle child of three siblings, until she made her first public appearance at the time of a missile launch in November 2022.